John Gardner (23 March 1965 – 11 July 2019) was a Scottish
legal philosopher
Philosophy of law is a branch of philosophy that examines the nature of law and law's relationship to other systems of norms, especially ethics and political philosophy. It asks questions like "What is law?", "What are the criteria for legal val ...
. He was senior research fellow at
All Souls College
All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...
,
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, and prior to that the
Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Oxford and a fellow of
University College, Oxford
University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...
.
Life and career
John Blair Gardner
was born in Glasgow on 23 March 1965, the elder of two sons, to William Russell Williamson Gardner and Sylvia Gardner (''née'' Hayward-Jones).
His parents were both
Germanist
German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German ...
s.
His mother was a secondary school teacher
and his father was a senior lecturer at the
University of Glasgow and Chairman of the city's
Goethe-Institut
The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange an ...
.
John Gardner attended
Glasgow Academy
The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational independent day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest continuously fully independent ...
from 1970 to 1982.
He won (in 1982) a place to study modern languages at
New College but switched to law before his first term (in 1983) began.
At the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, Gardner received his
BA,
BCL (winning the
Vinerian Scholarship
The Vinerian Scholarship is a scholarship given to the University of Oxford student who "gives the best performance in the examination for the degree of Bachelor of Civil Law". Currently, £2,500 is given to the winner of the scholarship, with an ...
),
MA, and
DPhil
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
, under the supervision of
Joseph Raz
Joseph Raz (; he, יוסף רז; born Zaltsman; 21 March 19392 May 2022) was an Israeli legal, moral and political philosopher. He was an advocate of legal positivism and is known for his conception of perfectionist liberalism. Raz spent mos ...
and
Tony Honoré
Anthony Maurice Honoré, (30 March 1921 – 26 February 2019) was a British lawyer and jurist, known for his work on ownership, causation and Roman law.John Gardne''Tony Honoré as Teacher and Mentor: A Personal Memoir''; read 1 April 2014.
B ...
. He was associated with
New College (as a student, 1983–7),
All Souls College
All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...
(as a fellow, 1986–1991, 1998–2000 and 2016–2019), and
Brasenose College
Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...
(as a fellow, 1991–1996).
From 1996 to 2000 he was reader in legal philosophy at
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King ...
.
In 2000, at the age of just 35, he was appointed
Professor of Jurisprudence at Oxford, taking over the chair previously held by
H. L. A. Hart and
Ronald Dworkin
Ronald Myles Dworkin (; December 11, 1931 – February 14, 2013) was an American philosopher, jurist, and scholar of United States constitutional law. At the time of his death, he was Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at New Yo ...
. In order to dedicate more time to his research he resigned the chair in 2016 and returned to All Souls as a senior research fellow.
Gardner died of cancer in July 2019, aged 54.
Honours and awards
Gardner held several visiting positions, including at
Columbia (2000),
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the worl ...
(2002–3, 2005),
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
(2008), the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...
(2003, 2006, 2008), and most recently
Cornell
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
(2015).
A (non-practising)
barrister since 1988, Gardner was elected an (Academic or Honorary) Bencher of the Honourable Society of the
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wa ...
(one of the
Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple.
All barristers must belong to one of them. They ha ...
) in 2003.
He was elected a fellow of the
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars s ...
in 2013.
Bibliography
Books
*''Offences and Defences: Selected Essays in the Philosophy of Criminal Law'' (2007)
*''Law as a Leap of Faith: Essays on Law in General'' (2012)
*''From Personal Life to Private Law'' (2018)
*''Torts and other Wrongs'' (2020)
Full list of publications at Gardner'
Faculty Homepage
References
External links
Obituaries
''John Gardner 1965 - 2019: An Appreciation''(University of Oxford Law Faculty) Summary by Sandy Steele (12 July 2019)
''John Gardner 1965 - 2019''University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
Law Faculty obituary by Annalise Acorn (17 July 2019)
*
John Gardner obituary' by
Nicola Lacey
Nicola Mary Lacey, (born 3 February 1958) is a British legal scholar who specialises in criminal law. Her research interests include criminal justice, criminal responsibility, and the political economy of punishment. Since 2013, she has been Pro ...
for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' (22 July 2019)
*
Obituary: John Gardner, internationally-renowned legal philosopher' by
Colin Kidd for ''
The Herald'' (24 July 2019)
Obituary: John Gardnerin ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its s ...
'' (2 August 2019)
*'
ohn Gardner: Academic who shone in the field of legal philosophy' obituary in ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' by Stephen Shute and Annalise Acorn (9 August 2019)
Interviews
*(2019
interviewby Carolina Flores.
ext*(2018)
John Gardner and Timothy Macklem discuss Joseph Raz'
ideo
IDEO () is a design and consulting firm with offices in the U.S., England, Germany, Japan, and China. It was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 1991. The company's 700 staff uses a design thinking approach to design products, services, enviro ...
*(2017)
Law as a Leap of Faith: John Gardner interviewed by Richard Marshall'
ext*(2012
Interview with John Gardner, by Diego Papayannisideo
IDEO () is a design and consulting firm with offices in the U.S., England, Germany, Japan, and China. It was founded in Palo Alto, California, in 1991. The company's 700 staff uses a design thinking approach to design products, services, enviro ...
*(2013
''John Gardner on Constitutions''with ''
Philosophy Bites
''Philosophy Bites'' is a podcast series featuring philosophers being interviewed for 15–20 minutes on a specific topic. The series, which has been running since 2007, is hosted by Nigel Warburton, freelance lecturer, and David Edmonds, and ha ...
''
udio*(2010)
Radio New Zealand National
RNZ National ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa Ā-Motu), formerly Radio New Zealand National, and known until 2007 as the National Programme or National Radio, is a publicly funded non-commercial New Zealand English-language radio network operat ...
“Nine to Noon�
interviewon the morality of policing.
udio
Lectures (video/podcast)
*The
Aristotelian Society
The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy, more generally known as the Aristotelian Society, is a philosophical society in London.
History
Aristotelian Society was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Squar ...
presents: Professor John Gardner (Oxford) –
Discrimination: The Good, the Bad, and the Wrongful' (podcast, 2017)
(Video)
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Further resources
University of Oxford profile(short biography, full list of publications, research interests).
(which includes 'post preprints' (completed but pre-refereed versions) of all his book reviews, of some of his articles and chapters, of interviews and memoirs plus links to video and audio broadcasts).
Open access papers
(Incomplete list) [also se
and Gardner's Academia.edu]
pagefor Preprints/drafts]
see Gardner's SSRN autho
pagefor papers free for PDF download (or
browser viewing with registration) titles include
Law as a Leap of Faith' (2000)
papersin the ''
Oxford Journal of Legal Studies,'' including ''On the Ground of Her Sex(uality) (''1988) which was cited in the landmark ''
Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India'
ruling*
Legal Positivism: 5 1/2 Myths'' (2001) ''American Journal of Jurisprudence:'' Vol. 46 : Iss. 1 , Article 12
nowiki/>PDF_view/download.html"_;"title="PDF.html"_;"title="nowiki/>PDF">nowiki/>PDF_view/download">PDF.html"_;"title="nowiki/>PDF">nowiki/>PDF_view/download*
'Simply_In_Virtue_of_Being_Human'_The_Whos_and_Whys_of_Human_Rights
'_(2007)_''Journal_of_Ethics_&_Social_Philosophy.html" ;"title="PDF">nowiki/>PDF_view/download.html" ;"title="PDF.html" ;"title="nowiki/>PDF">nowiki/>PDF view/download">PDF.html" ;"title="nowiki/>PDF">nowiki/>PDF view/download*
'Simply In Virtue of Being Human' The Whos and Whys of Human Rights
' (2007) ''Journal of Ethics & Social Philosophy">Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy,'' Vol 2 No 2 (2007): Volume II, Issue 2 [PDF download]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, John
1965 births
2019 deaths
People educated at the Glasgow Academy
Professors of Jurisprudence (University of Oxford)
Scottish legal scholars
Alumni of New College, Oxford
Fellows of University College, Oxford
Academics of King's College London
Philosophers of law
Lawyers from Glasgow
Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford
Fellows of Brasenose College, Oxford
Members of the Inner Temple
Fellows of the British Academy
Scottish philosophers